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Bun digging sawdust out of part of hutch

KatP

KatP

Alpha Buck
I have two mini lops and just this week one of them has taken to digging all the sawdust out of the closed part of their hutch. They have a hutch with run underneath and the hutch on top is 2/3 open and 1/3 closed. Well fudge will now dig all the sawdust out of the closed section, they always seemed to use this as the poop pod and still seem to be but now there isn't any sawdust! Any ideas why she has started doing this, she is 7 months old and not spayed yet, and should I be worrying about this?
 
KatP said:
I have two mini lops and just this week one of them has taken to digging all the sawdust out of the closed part of their hutch. They have a hutch with run underneath and the hutch on top is 2/3 open and 1/3 closed. Well fudge will now dig all the sawdust out of the closed section, they always seemed to use this as the poop pod and still seem to be but now there isn't any sawdust! Any ideas why she has started doing this, she is 7 months old and not spayed yet, and should I be worrying about this?
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We have mini lop called Fudge too! Her and her sister always used to bite, dig and scratch their hutch. We had them spayed about 6 weeks ago and they have almost entirely stopped doing this, buns are natural diggers so you will never totally eradicate this, she will be enjoying doing it.

Do you have a toilet or a place designated for the toilet in their hutch?
 
If she is living with an unneutered male rabbit then she is pregnant. If not then this is hormonal behaviour and will calm down after she has been spayed. The reason they do this I think is so when they wee onto the wood it soaks in and her scent remains there. You could try and get her out of the habit by giving her a litter tray filled with newspaper and hay. This might work.

Once she is neutered you could then introduce her to a neutered boy who will be company for her.
 
Is she living with another unspayed female or a neutered male?

I hope you don't mind my saying, but sawdust isn't recommended for rabbits as it can cause respiratory problems - if you take a look you will see threads about it. I use a thick layer of newspaper with hay on top.
 
Babsie said:
Is she living with another unspayed female or a neutered male?

I hope you don't mind my saying, but sawdust isn't recommended for rabbits as it can cause respiratory problems - if you take a look you will see threads about it. I use a thick layer of newspaper with hay on top.
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Yes newspaper and hay is best and cleaner :)
 
Another vote for hay in litter areas here :D a lot of us use Lino to put down on the floor, makes cleaning out much easier and protects the wood too :D I used to use shavings until I found RU and I can't believe how much easier it is looking after the buns now I've ditched the shavings. I use woodbased cat litter pellets in their trays with hay on top. My 2 girls got much better at using their trays after they were spayed too :thumb:
 
My two youngest bunnies live in a large two storey hutch in my living room until they integrate with my 'free range' bunnies and whilst I have litter trained them, the spayed doe loves digging in the litter tray and in the morning I come down to a pile of litter in the hutch and none in the tray, until today that is....I invested in a cat loo covered container with a flap yesterday, I removed the flap filled it with rabbit litter and hay and placed it at the end of the hutch where their litter tray normally is and Boo (the doe) immediately jumped in began digging away, but it all stayed contained in the box!! Hurrah!! No mess in the morning and I can just lift it out to empty and clean :) ....hope this helps :)


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Ludo just has hay and newspaper too, it uses up the old 'eating hay' that he doesn't want and saves money on shavings.
 
Sorry totally off topic but I had always been told not to use news papers as they would get bound up and the ink could make them ill, this is why I went for wood chips so is this totally wrong advice? Since being on here I have been told to use Lino, cardboard and news paper! Totally confused as just want the best for my buns!!
 
KatP said:
Sorry totally off topic but I had always been told not to use news papers as they would get bound up and the ink could make them ill, this is why I went for wood chips so is this totally wrong advice? Since being on here I have been told to use Lino, cardboard and news paper! Totally confused as just want the best for my buns!!
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I changed from wood chips to paper litter from the stuff I read in here, u do agree that there is a lot of conflicting info on here on the subject though. The reason for the change was mainly due to the advice given that it can cause respairity issues but I'm not sure how true that is. Since changing from wood chips there's defiantly an improvement in the mess that gets dragged around the house :)

With newspaper I think it depends on the bun. Not all buns with chew it I think. Definate no no for my two and I think your right with ink it's not great for them.


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KatP said:
Sorry totally off topic but I had always been told not to use news papers as they would get bound up and the ink could make them ill, this is why I went for wood chips so is this totally wrong advice? Since being on here I have been told to use Lino, cardboard and news paper! Totally confused as just want the best for my buns!!
Click to expand...

Some people stick lino on to the bottom of the hutch to make cleaning easier.

Not sure where the cardboard bit comes in.

I always used wood shavings until I came on here and read about the respiratory problems they can cause.

I don't have any problem with using newspaper topped with a thick layer of hay.
 
Newspaper ink in the UK is made from soya ink, apparently. It's therefore non-toxic. Obviously you wouldn't want them eating absolutely loads of the stuff though!
 
I changed a few years ago as my one of my bunnies was getting runny eyes from the dust, I now use Back To Nature 100% recycled paper pellets, they keep the mess down, very absorbent as the wee area clumps together so you only take out the wet stuff, so more economical and more importantly no respiratory problems...you can buy it online from the Hay Experts for about £12 for a 30lt bag (Pets at home sell it but they charge £17 for the same size!) I use it for 4 house bunnies and a 30lt bag lasts me about 2 weeks. Hope this helps :))


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janban said:
I changed a few years ago as my one of my bunnies was getting runny eyes from the dust, I now use Back To Nature 100% recycled paper pellets, they keep the mess down, very absorbent as the wee area clumps together so you only take out the wet stuff, so more economical and more importantly no respiratory problems...you can buy it online from the Hay Experts for about £12 for a 30lt bag (Pets at home sell it but they charge £17 for the same size!) I use it for 4 house bunnies and a 30lt bag lasts me about 2 weeks. Hope this helps :))
Click to expand...

I think that stuff is brilliant too. I just wish it worked out a bit cheaper. Much as I'm not a big fan of Megazorb, it is so cheap to buy from the farm shop.
 
Hempcore is as cheap as megasorb but nicer and not as dusty. It actually helped my asthma when I cleaned everything out. Still messy like woodshavings but smells nice :D
 
Mirth said:
Hempcore is as cheap as megasorb but nicer and not as dusty. It actually helped my asthma when I cleaned everything out. Still messy like woodshavings but smells nice :D
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It's funny that people say it smells nice, as I tried it once and absolutely hated the smell! It's put me off trying Aubiose too (even if I could find it), in case it smells as bad!
 
I think I tried something like megazorb ....Carefresh? But it was light weight and kept sticking to the buns bums! Lol what I have found great for stopping the mess of the litter from going over the living room floor is instead of a conventional litter tray, I bought a cat litter box (the type with a lid and a cat flap at the front) I took the flap off and my two youngest bunnies love it as it gives then privacy and Boo the doe can dig in it for hours without kicking the litter all over the carpet! :)


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I use fitch for my guinea pigs and newspaper and hay for the rabbits. Finacard is good too.
 
janban said:
I changed a few years ago as my one of my bunnies was getting runny eyes from the dust, I now use Back To Nature 100% recycled paper pellets, they keep the mess down, very absorbent as the wee area clumps together so you only take out the wet stuff, so more economical and more importantly no respiratory problems...you can buy it online from the Hay Experts for about £12 for a 30lt bag (Pets at home sell it but they charge £17 for the same size!) I use it for 4 house bunnies and a 30lt bag lasts me about 2 weeks. Hope this helps :))


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Click to expand...

Paper pellets are good to use as substrate. They are very absorbent and does keep the smell down. Papelit pellets are half the price and works just as well.
 
Problem solved!!! She hasn't done this for the last week and we think the reason is the my OH was doing evening hay duty and wasn't putting any in where they poop as he was worried they might wee on it whereas I always put some hay in their as well. Tried last night not putting the hay in there and she dug it all out last night! So think problem solved :oops:
 
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